


You'll Never Know

by thebitch



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, so let me have this, this is based off one of my headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-28
Packaged: 2018-04-23 15:02:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4881319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebitch/pseuds/thebitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dick was a child and woke up from a bad dream, his mom would always tell him a story to make him laugh and then sing him to sleep again. He thinks it's about time he continued that tradition.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How much

**Author's Note:**

> This is just what happens when you let me run with a stray headcanon and I end up overthinking it. Enjoy!

Dick was a fairly light sleeper. 

Okay, so actually everyone in their family was a light sleeper, but that was at least the excuse he used if Alfred came downstairs and saw him eating cereal on the counter at three in the morning. His sleeping schedule was beyond repair and now he had to deal with the consequences, so is life. 

Thankfully, there was no Alfred nagging at him by the time he finished and was going back to his room. There was a noise though. It sounded….muffled. Slightly muffled sniffling. Dick was going to guess that it may have been one of the stray cats Damian snuck in that he didn’t think Alfred of himself knew about, but then it got louder. 

It wasn’t one of Damian’s strays, it was Damian. 

Dic was on route to the other’s room in the blink of an eye. Making his way in as he saw Damian. His brows furrowed and his lips pursed tight. The boy’s body rigid as can be as Dick quietly made his way to his bedside. Laying a hand gently on the boy’s shoulder as he felt the other’s bruising grip. 

“Damian.” He soothed, trying to hold back the other hand as Damian started to lash out. “Damian, Dami it’s me. It’s Dick.” He said quickly, his voice mixing with Damian’s heavy breathes and muffled words that Dick couldn’t quite make out. And he wasn’t sure he wanted too. 

“Get away, get away don’t touch. Don’t!” Damian started to say, his words slurring as Dick brushed back the other’s sweat soaked hair, shaking him lightly. “Stop, stop. Mother! Mother don’t let them. Don’t let them, please. It hur-!” He said with a gasp, before his eyes went wide and he sat straight up. Shaking slightly. 

Dick watched as Damian looked him over, ready to get into a fighting position before he realized who it was. Relaxing only slightly as he tried to sneer at his older brother. “I don’t n-need you here.” He spat, trying to cover up the slight shake in his voice. 

“I know.” Dick nodded, squeezing Damian’s shoulder. “But I want to be here. Do you want to talk about it?” 

“No.” came the curt reply

“Do you want me to leave?” 

“….No.” this time said softly, Damian swallowing the lump in his throat as his eyes were glued to the floor

“Okay.” He hummed, content to just sit on the edge of Damian’s bed. “Whenever I had nightmares, my mom used to tell me a story. Then she’d sing me a song.” 

“I’m not five, Grayson.” 

“I was eight. Age doesn't matter.”  
Damian crossed his arms, but did look up at Dick. “That’s because you were raised to be soft. I wasn’t.” 

“Yeah? Well, even the hardest metal ends up rusting away. “ He replied, looking back at Damian. “Besides, I have a good story.” 

“If you say it’s good I’m not sure I want to hear.” The boy grumbled, and Dick couldn’t help but laugh. That was the Damian he knew. 

“It’s good, I promise.” Dick paused, scooting a bit closer to Damian. “You know Tim took pictures of us, right? Back when I was Robin.” 

“I’m aware of the stalker and his tendencies.” 

“You know he made scrapbooks out of the pictures.” 

“….He didn’t.” 

“Oh but he did.” Dick chuckled. “And no, you can’t use this for blackmail. Or else I’ll tell him about the time I walked in on you telling your stray cat that if he trained hard enough he could be your sidekick.” 

Damian shot Dick about the meanest glare a tired ten year old could. “He’d still be a better ally than you.” The boy huffed. “But fine, go on.” 

Dick smiled, before diving into the story on how he found Tim’s cute little scrapbooks when he was helping the other organize his things. God, Dick letting out a soft laugh as he remembers how red the other’s face got as Dick waved around the book and flipped through the so called ‘offending pages.’ 

Noticing how Damian slowly began to scoot over to Dick as the story went on. Dick taking it as a sign to get more onto the bed, and he couldn’t help but to mentally pat himself on the back when he got Damian to crack a hint of a smile. Progress. Baby steps but still progress. 

Damian ended up asleep on his chest around halfway through the story, the boy’s hand tightly bunching up the fabric of Dick’s shirt. Humming under his breath as his hand gently brushed Damian’s hair back as he made sure the boy seemed comfortable before relaxing himself. 

They never did get to the song, but that was alright. Because he still got Damian asleep and peaceful, like a normal ten year old should be. His little brother deserved at least. A taste of normalcy. And Dick would do his best to provide it. 

Besides, there would always be a next time.


	2. I love you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a next time, but Dick never expected it to be like this.

There’s rain soaking into his costume, but it’s alright. Rain is cleansing. It covers the tang of copper and washes away the bright red so they can both pretend it’s not there.

Dick’s fingers are brushing back Damian’s hair as the boy’s head is cradled in his lap. He feels numb, like he’s on pause and just going through the motions.

“Grayson?” Damian’s voice is small, he sounds like a child. He is a child, just a little boy.

“Yeah Dami?” He asks, his eyes not looking at the trail of crimson dribbling down his brother’s chin.

“Can you…” there’s a pause, Dick wants to think it’s because he’s trying to choose his words. The logical side of his brain tells him it's because there's too much blood in his mouth.  “Can you sing me that song your mother sang to you? I’m tired.”

“Of course I can.” He hums, before taking in a breath. It’s shaky, but he doesn’t allow himself to tremble as the song slowly slips past his lips.

“You are my sunshine…..my only sunshine.” Dick croons, his hand going to lace with Damian’s own as he gave it a slight squeeze. “You make me happy, when skies are gray.”

His voice is starting to go, he can’t finish this. He doesn’t want to finish this. He can feel Damian’s pulse beneath his wrist. It’s slow, slowing. There’s nothing he can do to stop it.

“You’ll never know, dear.” Dick’s breath hitches, he leans in closer to Damian so the other can still hear him, because he can’t force himself to go any louder. “How much I love you.” He murmurs, his lips pressing to Damian’s forehead as he sang the words.

“I love you.” He repeats again, because Damian needs to hear it, needs to know he was loved.  So completely loved for who he is.

“Please don’t take.” He pauses, when he feels Damian squeeze his hand back.

His pulse is fading.  Dick’s mind races.

_No, no please not yet. The song’s not over yet, he needs more time. Just a little more time._

“My sunshine away.” He says the last phrase to himself, because the body below him can’t hear anything.

Dick slowly moves a shaky hand down as he feels the handle of the large blade embedded in his brother’s stomach. Blood lazily gushing down and staining the red of his outfit an even deeper crimson.

“My mom has a way better voice than me, little D.” He whispers to the still warm body as he presses a gentle kiss to the top of Damian’s forehead. “Ask her to sing it for you, okay?”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love death and dying :)


End file.
